Alcohol in small doses is unquestionably an excellent stimulant for the nervous system and the circulatory apparatus. There are many people who are able to do more work, especially of a physical nature, when they take a certain amount of alcohol; and at the same time they have a better appetite for food. Alcohol, however, is of more benefit in this respect if we take wine; and of all alcoholic drinks, except beer, wine contains the least percentage of alcohol, especially French wines, which normally contain only 9 per cent. But this stimulating effect only holds good when we do not take large amounts, for in the latter case the quality of work is impaired, especially mental labor. In a given quantity, and preferably in the shape of red wine, alcohol is able to cheer us up, and to a certain extent diminish grief and sorrow; but after taking large quantities we feel more depressed. Beer is more nourishing than wine, but has a more sluggish effect. English and some kinds of American beer often contain nearly as much alcohol as some kinds of wine, sometimes more than light Tyrolean or Italian wines. The most beneficial form of alcohol is a light wine, and, as a medical stimulant, the older vintages of French wines. Beer may, to some extent, assist digestion, owing to its bitter constituents. It is true that it contains the least percentage of alcohol of all beverages of this nature, but it has the disadvantage that it is taken in larger quantities as one gets accustomed to it, and thus more alcohol and a larger amount of liquid may be introduced, the result of which may be injurious to the circulatory system (see “Hygiene of the Food”). Observation proves that many old people thrive well on a small amount of claret or other red wine taken daily at meal times. In such cases it may be regarded as a harmless tonic, if taken only in small quantities, and if their health be otherwise normal except for the debility attributable to old age. Dr. Savile, of London, has also found salutary effects from moderate and exactly regulated quantities of alcohol in the aged inmates of the workhouse infirmary. In our judgment we shall be best guided by the way in which our regular patients tolerate alcohol. When, having been accustomed to it all their life, they ask for wine or whiskey, and they can tolerate it well, we admit that small amounts act as a kind of tonic for them; but it should never be given if there is an incompatibility for it, for then it is distinctly harmful and should be avoided. Brandy is the most dangerous form of alcohol,[310] but whiskey in small doses may be reckoned much less harmful; but the least injurious of all are light wines and the still lighter kinds of beer, which contain only some 3 per cent. of alcohol. Footnote 310: